Where did the time go?

John helped me set this up from Picasa, pretty awesome! Glad it's easy to blog again!

Pizza! (This is Broxon, he's 16 months now....)

Buddies (Xanden is 6 now...)

Investigating this strange dessert...

Paisli got birthday cupcakes! (she's 4!)

uggh, too much of a good thing!

Bathtime

Paisli and her new American Girl Doll she named "Little Red Riding Hood", we call her "Little Red"

Best friends!

She was so excited!

Here he comes...

there he goes!

Sisters. (Berkli is 8...)

Berkli, Paisli, Samantha, and Little Red

Face painting at Moving Planet Portland event.

Berkli is 8!!!

Here is her cake. It was my first time with fondant. Which was SO fun! I made a homemade marshmallow fondant, with almond, butter and vanilla flavoring. The cake was three layers, one chocolate, one vanilla and one strawberry.

Love this amazing girl!

The girls played hopscotch, Berkli and Camry made the board and the arrows showing everyone where to line up.
Berkli with her cousin Camry. These are Hello Kitty Pizzas, Oval pizza shape with small points for the ears, olives for the eyes, pineapple tidbit for a nose, slices of olives are the wiskers and a pepperoni bow. The girls got to take turns making their own.
We made mini magnet boards by mod-podging scrapbook paper onto sheet metal and painting a 5x7 frame, and glueing it in place. We also made magnets with clear marbles and scrapbook paper. We tied ribbon on the top for hanging. They all turned out SO cute, and somehow we don't have a picture :(
We had an indoor pinata, where each girl takes a turn pulling a string, one lucky string pulls the pinata open. We made it all the way to number 11 :) (unfortunately we had 12 girls, but Alyssa was a trooper!) (This is also the only shot of my amazing friend Jani, she came and helped me. Without her I don't know what I would have done!!)

Berkli's friends spoiled her. It was such a fun day!
Tips I learned:

The cake is everything.
Make sure it is even and smoothly cut, make sure your frosting is smooth. Make sure you take the time to freeze the cake so it is easy to cut.

Also, make sure you give yourself plenty of time to freeze the cake before cutting so it is easier. (I would also recommend leaving it in the freezer until right before you cut it -I got in the shower and by the time I was done, it was soft around the edges and hard to cut)

If you are doing multiple layers, I would stack them all (with frosting in between the layers, then trim the sides off all the layers at once. THEN ice the sides all at the same time with a crumb coat. Make sure your crumb coat is smooth and even.

Before adding the fondant, make sure all your surfaces are clean and free of crumbs. This is VERY IMPORTANT!

Also, I like to make the cakes a three days ahead and then freeze them wrapped in plastic and aluminum foil. Two days prior I like to stack my layers, do the trimming and crumb coat of frosting and put it back in the freezer. Then the day before, I do all the frosting and detail work and put it in the fridge overnight. The only pain is that the cake was SO big, I had to put a bunch of my groceries in the freezer to fit it. Once the cake is done, it takes SO much stress off.

Some people suggest not adding the fondant accents until the day of, I went ahead and did it, but some small accents did come off (I also did not know you were supposed to glue them on with frosting....) I guess I watched one too many episodes of cake boss!

Broxon John Smith

June 6, 2010

9:25 pm
7 lbs. 4 oz
20 inches long

Finally--The Story- it's VERY long, and probably too much info, but aren't they always?

This time, I decided to deliver at The Baby Place, which is a birthing center run by midwives. It was the best decision and we loved it. We wish all our kids could have been born there, it was perfect. I also bought a contraction timer for my iPod that made it so I could email the data to myself, so I have a record of this crazy labor and can actually document my contractions, kind of a fun thing.

I started having strong contractions Friday at 3am. They were about 10-15 minutes apart and varied in intensity. They were getting a lot stronger and "bitier" than the ones I had been having previously so I knew something was happening. They didn't stop all day, and were getting more intense, not neccessarily closer together, but stronger. We had John's family take the kids Saturday afternoon around 4. We figured after 12 hours of steady contractions 10-15 minutes apart, something was bound to happen in the middle of the night.

To get my contractions going in the past, I've always had to walk and when I do they instantly get regular (3-5 minutes apart). I wasn't willing to do that with the kids around, so after they were gone we went to Ann Morrison Park. We walked around trying to see if we could kick my labor into full force. After 1 1/2 hours of walking, my contractions had still been irregular, but stronger longer and closer together. But I would have them every 3-7 minutes and they would last for 1-2 minutes, I just couldn't get them regular. They were really painful and I had a hard time walking through them so I was thinking that was a good sign.

We went home and I was still having strong contractions so we decided to go to bed and rest because it was bound to be a long night. Around 1 am they were 3 minutes apart for an hour, so we decided to call my midwife and go in. When we got there my contractions had slowed down. she said I was a 3, and that my cervix was still posterier but that she wanted us to stay so she could keep an eye on us. My contractions slowed down to 10 minutes apart for the rest of the night. At 7 am, she checked me again, and nothing had changed. I was pretty upset. 27 hours of nonstop contractions, and I wasn't progressing very quickly. (on a side note, they never checked me before I was in labor and in the past, I never dilate past a 2 unless I'm in labor for about 8 hours). The frustrating part at this point was that my contractions were very strong and intense, and far apart. They were also not regular, They would be anywhere from 7-15 minutes apart. But they would last between 30 seconds and 2 minutes. So frustrating. I'd had braxton hicks in the past, but never for days without a break, and they were never this intense.

We went home discouraged, but determined to progress the labor. We were pretty exhausted so we went home and tried to walk around the neighborhood, it didn't matter what I did, I could not get the contractions regular. They also wouldn't get closer than about 8 minutes apart. They weren't showing any signs of patterns of anything, I'd have a super intense one, followed by a soft one. I'd have one 8 minutes, then 12 minutes, then 9 minutes than 15 minutes, then 8 minutes, then 9, then 10, then 15, then 7.... Just REALLY random. But overall, the intensity was strong, I couldn't do anything other than focus through them. Based on my previous labors, if it wasn't for the timing issue, it felt like I was in labor. I always have at least 12 hours of regular 3 minute apart steady and intense contractions. Icouldn't get these contractions regular or 3-5 minutes apart for the life of me. It wasn't like I was having braxton hicks that kind of hurt, I hadn't been able to do anything through my contractions all day. Every time one would come on I would stop what I was doing and relax. We were trying to keep my mind off of it by beating Super Mario Bros on the wii ;)

Around 5 o'clock on Sunday night I was SO discouraged. I was in tears at this point. I would have one so strong that I could barely relax followed by one that was still intense, but not very had to relax through. The fact that they averaged about 8 minutes apart wasn't helping either. I felt like I was in labor and progressing, but all the signs were not pointing in that direction. The rule is that they have to be stronger, longer, closer together. When they get 3-5 minutes apart for 1 hour, go in. So we were playing the waiting game.

I called my mother in law to ask her to call her friend who is training to be a midwife and ask her if there was any way I could be in labor. The call back was not what I wanted to hear, they said there was no way I was in labor and that they had to be regular. So, I broke down and lost it. I was done, I couldn't do 12 more hours of this, let alone 12 hours of 3 minute apart contractions. I decided this was the worst labor ever, I was exhausted and I was throwing in the towel.

I know about the emotional map of going natural, and that when you are in active labor, you can really tell because you don't talk and you don't get distracted. The problem is that I was perfectly fine in between contractions, it was weird because they were 8-12 minutes apart, so I had plenty of time to talk with John in between and tell him how discouraged I was. He's seen me have all our other kids, and never once have I spoken to him while in labor. I took a bath to try to slow things down, but my contractions only felt more intense, but still totally irregular, 7 minutes, 10 minutes, 12 minutes, 8 minutes, 5 minutes, 9 minutes... really random. No patterns, nothing. so I got out. They just kept coming really intense, to the point that I could barely stand through them, but still completely random and far apart. I was not okay. They felt like transition contractions, but none of the other signs made sense or added up.

Around 7:30, John decided we should walk around the house. He was trying to get me confident. Every time I'd have a contraction I'd look at him, hoping they were getting closer or regular or something. But they weren't. We got them between 6- 7 1/2 minutes apart for 45 minutes. By this point I was so exhausted, I had hardly eaten anything in the last two days and my energy was low. Not to mention, they were so intense. So I sat down through my next contraction hoping that my walking had kicked my contractions into being regular. Instantly they went irregular, my next contraction was 9 minutes. I was so discouraged! If I wasn't walking, they weren't regular, so I wasn't in labor. Not to mention, I was exhausted and they were getting so intense couldn't relax through them. John gave me a blessing and we said a prayer asking for a quick delivery. All I could do was cry. He called my midwife and told her they had been 6 minutes apart for an hour (exaggeration, seeing as how it was between 6-7 1/2 minutes, and they had stopped being regular when I stopped walking after 45 minutes). She told us to come in in an hour (This was at 8:30.) I was devastated.

I told John, there is no way I can last an hour. He tried to get me to get up and walk again, and I did for a few contractions, but I could barely breathe through them, they felt like transition contractions and I couldn't relax or breathe, just wait until it was over. By this time, they had lost all consistency, they would be 5 minutes, 9 minutes, 7 minutes, 5 minutes, 2 minutes, 6 minutes...just REALLY random again, and SO discouraging. Around 8:50 I just laid down on the couch, defeated, exhausted and discouraged. They were SO intense, how was I going to do 12 more hours of this?? John kept asking if I wanted to get checked all day, but I just knew that if I had barely progressed, or not at all, that I would be SO discouraged, it was better not to know. It really takes me forever to get to a 5, so I was concerned that if I got checked I would only be a 4 (or STILL a 3) and just give up completely. Not to mention, they still were so irregular, I just didn't want to get more discouraged.

Around 9 o'clock, I told John I kind of felt like I needed to push, just a little pressure. So he immediately grabbed our bags and put me in the car. We had removed a seat in the back and set the exercise ball in the middle so I could kneel on the floor and drape over the ball. Just before in the car, I had another contraction that really had a lot of pressure. So John and I took off and before we knew it I was having another contraction and trying SO hard not to push. We live 20 minutes from The Baby Place, so John was freaking out. He called my midwife and she said she would meet us right there and told him to tell me not to push no matter what. The good news was that my contractions weren't super close together so I was thinking I would only have two in the car. Wow, what a time to get closer together, well I had one while turning onto the freeway on ramp, another on the freeway by eagle road, and the last one on franklin while turning right before The Baby Place. I was trying so hard to relax and not push, I just crossed my legs and held on. That was the longest ride of my life. John had called his mom as we were getting on the freeway and told her to meet us there. She lives about 15 minutes from The Baby Place.

We got there in record time, and they met us outside, walked me into the room, sat me down, and checked me, and she said " you're an 8, hold on, now you're a 10, let's get that baby out." (literally in one sentence, that fast). So I started pushing and within a few minutes, I had a baby. I had him exactly 17 minutes from the time we had left our house. Now I should remind you that I didn't know know what I was having. I really thought it was a girl, right after he came out, he was upside down and I saw a little what looked like boy parts in between his legs,. I immediately said "That's a boy." John was like, "What, I totally forgot to look." So then he called his mom on the phone and said "It's a boy!" She was like "What? I'm not even there yet?" We then called my mom who said "I didn't even know you were in labor!" (apparently, neither did we.) I was pretty unprepared for a boy and totally shocked!

At the time, my labor seemed so discouraging and horrible, my last ten contractions, were actually this: 9, 5, 4, 1, 5, 2, 7, 7, 5, 2. (this includes the last ones in the car). In retrospect, it was actually probably one of the best. Having so much time in between contractions was overall a lot easier. It's like I had my typical 12 hours of 3 minute apart contractions spread out over 42 hours. The car part was insane, and as hard as it was for me, John was thinking about how we were going to have to deliver on the side of the road, and all these crazy thoughts were running through his head.

The Baby Place was AMAZING and worth it! It was such a calm birth, and recovery. They really let us get to know Broxon without pulling him away to do science experiments. It was so peaceful and having a king size bed was wonderful for recovery. It's hard to describe, just that rather than treating Broxon and me like sick people, they did check us to make sure we were okay, but they treated us like what we went through was normal and healthy and natural. Broxon didn't even cry until they poked his toe the next morning for the PKU. It was so great and peaceful, and we got to leave in the morning and relax at home. My in laws kept the kids one more night so we could recover at home with just us. It was perfect, and so great to be able to do what we wanted. He's here, and he is so great!

1 week old

Help!

Okay, now that I have your attention, (I should announce that this post doesn't include any pictures of Broxon or labor stories... it is coming I PROMISE..wait, don't stop reading, keep reading, please, I really do need your help!)

I am in charge of the Smith Family Camping Reunion this year, we (switch off camping and coast trips) and I wanted to get some ideas of things we could do.

There are about 12 adults ages 18-32, plus John's Parents 10 kids ages 8, 7, 6 (x 2), 5, 4, 3 (x 4), & 3 babies ages 9 months, 4 months & 2 months.

So what are some fun games you have done at various reunions, and more details than less would be great! THANK YOU!!!

Rachael

p.s. the more of you that post, the more motivated I'll be to blog about life again...who's reading and what do you have to share, I like long comments :)

Wevehadababyitsaboy!

Broxon John Smith
June 6th, 2010, 9:25pm
7 lbs. 4 oz. 20 inches

April Overview

I was super productive this month.. I was able to accomplish the following off of my list:

Easter Dresses out of Dress Shirt

All the girls on the Smith side got together to make Easter dresses for our girls.
(I made Berkli a matching green one, but she wouldn't wear it.)

Easter Dessert

Not nearly as pretty as the one I copied, and the chick in the middle looked more like a yolk, but the kids loved it. I wanted to spend time decorating it with frosting instead of sprinkles, but not only was it conference weekend, but that would be the day my husband and I fought over the kitchen so he could make "Beef Bourginon". We did watch Julie and Julia, how did you know?

Tile Kitchen floor doorway.
This is probably the project I am most proud of. Because no one wanted to help, so I did it on my own. This first picture just shows me chiseling away at the leftover glue from the tile before. For some reason, this chunk of floor in our kitchen never got tiled. I really don't know why, other then after the guys laid the hardibacker they left this spot bare and we were in such a hurry to tile that for some reason we tiled around it. Which left a 2" spot of concrete and a 4" old wood step exposed.

In order to lay the tile, I then had to chisel the trim around the door.

Next, Xanden helped me cut the hardibacker to fit ( I like to think we did a great job). We started out cutting by hand but then I decided to quit being a whimp and just get out the table saw. That made it easier and then we cut the step notches by hand. Then I laid the hardibacker and let it sit overnight.

And then I had to get a few tiles cut at Lowes, but luckily it was exactly 6" wide, so I only had to get the four small one that go under the trim cut.
Today I added the wood trim in the front and stained it so that I can add the grout next. All in all, I am proud of this tile project because I did it on my own. Now I just need to grout it :)

Finish FHE Board

This was one of those last minute projects to cross something off my list. It actually took about 20 minutes to do it, I had painted the tin and added the vinyl and rub on letters last Spring, and just barely made the pictures so we can use it.

On a side note, the reason I was super busy this month and wasn't able to tackle my list very much. for two reasons:

1. I am seven months pregnant, now eight months pregnant.

2. I was working almost constantly making final preparations for the Charter School to be presented to the Idaho State Charter School Commission on the 29th.
I guess all that hard work payed off because we were approved! The first time through!

I just got an email from the State of Idaho Charter School Choice Coordinator saying that our presentation was outstanding and we raised the bar for future schools who will be presenting.
So I guess all the hours and time spent payed off. The Village Charter School will be coming to Boise Idaho in Fall of 2011. Crazy! Ooh, and I forgot to mention that in February, I wrote my first grant! And, our school was awarded $50,000! The entire thing woo hoo!

So I guess what I'm saying is all in all, I feel like I accomplished a lot this month.

April Madness- Insane-ness

I just realized why I am so overwhelmed. I decided to do some fun projects in April to make up for my lack of fun projects in March, and when I mapped out my schedule, here's what I have going on this month:

• 3^rd & 4^th General Conference
• 5^th- 8^th- Charter- major deadline, finish up loose ends, finalize documents
  
• 9^th-11^th- Idaho Falls, visit the Hurds & Baby William’s Baby Blessing
• 9^th Xanden’s Birthday
• 13^th –16^th John in Vegas :(
• 16^th John’s Birthday
• 16^th-25^th My Mom here
• 20^th Anniversary
• 22^nd- 25^th Portland & Seattle to see my brothers
• 26^th-29^th Prep for Charter Commission Meeting
• 30^th- Meet with State Charter Commission to seek approval.

12th, 17th-19th, 21st, 31st - Normal Days

All in all, I realized that these are my only "normal days" this month. And during all but two of those days, my mom will be here. So she might not like it if I ignore her the whole time :) Maybe I can come up with something fun for us to do while she's here.

Here is what I have planned for April Insane-ness. I am not going to be as organized as my sister in law, and I will simply decide what I want to do when I have time and do something. My biggest hurdle right now seems to be that I am so busy that when I actually have time, I am so tired I don't have the energy to think of anything fun to do.

Here's my list in no particular order.

1. Easter Dresses out of Dress Shirt
2. Finish Dresses
3. Easter Dessert
   
4. Food Storage Planning
5. Fort- Table Cover Base Cover
6. Fort- Accents- Doors, Window, Trim, Designs make it more like this, and for a standard card table.
   
7. Tile Kitchen floor doorway.
   
8. Hang Bedroom Door
9. Sand & Paint Doorway Trim
10. Diaper Clutch
11. Diaper Bag
12. Nursing Cover
    
13. Touch up Kids’ Paint
14. Touch up Toasted Almond Paint
15. Clear Coat Kitchen Cupboards
16. Design Berkli’s Quilt
17. Felt Mr. Potato Head
18. Design Xanden’s Quilt
19. Sweater Pillow
20. Pillow w/ Ties
21. Pillow Shams
    
22. Quiet Book
23. Finish FHE Board
24. Picaboo Book- first time customer get a book free! (my coupon says I have until Dec, 31, 2010 to claim my book.)
    
25. 72 hour kit slings for 2- liter water bottles
    
26. Toy Kitchen Food- Noodles, Oats, Rice, Boxed Goods, Canned Goods
    
27. Toy Kitchen-Fabric Food, ongoing
    
28. Repair Kid's Kitchen
29. Repaint Kids' Kitchen
30. Farmhouse Bed
31. Hang Bedroom Curtains

I thought I should add a disclaimer that I DO NOT intend to accomplish all of these things this month, or even half. (unfortunately) I hope that by making a list when I do have time, I will have somewhere to go to be inspired and not blog surf for ideas all the time. I also do realize that I am 30 weeks pregnant on top of my busy schedule and so accomplishing 5 things off of this list will be a miracle. I just want to have something fun to look forward to and keep me motivated without wasting all my time trying to figure out what to do. Which is what I usually do. That, and sleep.

March Madness-Recap

My totally cute, totally crafty sister in law Dena decided to do a March Madness month and do a different project everyday for the month of March. I signed on, not realizing how insane my March was going to be :) I also never even had time to make a list of what I wanted to do. I've been SO busy the last year that I haven't been able to remember what I enjoy doing, let alone have a list of projects I want to do. I'm trying to find balance in my life and make a list of things I enjoy doing.

All in all, I was still inspired and got things done that I never would have otherwise with the madness and blog posts in mind I just didn't have the time to document it! Thanks Deen for the inspiration!

March Madness Re-cap: (Completely out of order)

1. Write Charter School Grant- this was an insane project that fell on my lap at the last minute, I had to edit and write a 50 page grant in less than a week, pretty sure it got turned in at 4:58 the day it was due.
2. Touch up doorways- This was actually one of those feel good projects. When we moved in, we had the flat ugly wood doors, and on Craigslist I found some really cute doors with hardware, the only problem- all the doors were hung the wrong way, so we had to router out the doors and our doorways to make the hinges line up to our doorways. It's one of those things you don't notice until the door is open, so I always forget. I still haven't sanded or painted them, but they are all puttied up!
   
3. Clean Oven & Cupboards- This was an impromptu kitchen cleaning that ended up taking all day. I've been so busy/sick/tired that fingerprints have been building up all over my house, so I took the day to clean them off my cupboards.
   
4. Organize Craft Room- We rearranged our house in February. I don't think I ever posted about that... So I had two craft cupboards that were stuffed full of stuff, plus boxes on the floor. Eventually I got so sick of walking past the boxes I decided to put it all away. It took 2 days, but was totally worth it.
   
5. Clean out Shed- 2 days. This credit goes to John, we started, I got sick, he finished. The End. Great Job honey!
6. Clean out craft shed- This was all me. I have a lot of craft supplies, I just need to figure out what to do with them all! This shed also contains our holiday decorations and food storage too.
   
7. Take stuff to DI- Again, John, thank you so much! Two van fulls later, and all that unnecessary stuff was gone, just like that!
8. Move clothes to Paisli's new dresser & Get rid of Old Dresser.
   
9. Hang new blinds- My front window has had a tiny crack ever since we moved in. One day,Berkli tapped on it and it shattered. Thanks to homeowners insurance we were able to replace the window, another cracked window and refurnish our house for the remodel. I'm not used to everyone being able to see into my house all the time, so on a whim I decided to get the 2" faux wood blinds for my front window. It was fun, but took all day to hang.
   
10. Organize Charter Stuff- I had SO many documents that had been printed, edited, changed, handouts, notes, etc. So I finally took the time to go through it all to make sure I had what I needed. Phew! Now to just find a home for all this stuff...
    
11. Make Cards- Two or three years ago I planned a card class for my mom and her friends and always intended on doing it in Boise, but never got around to it. I've had these kits all pre-cut ready to go for years. My mom called me to ask if I would make her some cards and two days, 150 cards later, I was done. I want to say it was enjoyable, but overall getting it done was the real satisfaction. I don't want to touch a stamp or anything like that for a long time.
12. Update 72 hour kits- With all the earthquakes everywhere, I decided I needed to make sure our 72 hour kits were up to date. So we pulled out the clothes, and everyone just laughed, the shirts and pants went to berkli and xanden's mid back. As far as the food goes, I found 3 packets of instant oatmeal and 6 small bags of expired jerky. It was pathetic. So John helped them the kids get their clothes together while I updated our first aid kits and made food plans.
    
13. Shop for 72 hour kits- I had to shop for all the newly needed supplies, and then resort them into ziploc bags for each kit.
    
14. Meals for 72 hour kits- This was better, we actually have food, and a way to cook it. All we need now is water. Twelve 2-liter bottles worth to be exact. Plus the slings to carry them. I'll have to do that next month...
    
15. Sea Salt Chocolate Truffles- I made these with Dena, they were amazing! See pics here.
    
16. Over Easy Egg- I've fallen in love with all the felt food out there, I decided I want to make some more durable food out of cotton fabrics. It will be more work, but I think it will last longer and be washable. My first task was an over easy egg. Pretty fun, I just designed an egg shape and started sewing, the yolk ended up being too large, but overall I am excited to finish this project!
    
17. Paisli Twirly Skirt- Fail! I tried to make a skirt out of a T-shirt that matched a cute skirt from Gymboree. It didn't work at all, I'm going to have to try again. At least the T shirt was only $2. In case you haven't noticed, I tend to be the "sew"-er that doesn't use patterns and just starts cutting and hoping it will work. It's the wanna be designer in me trying to get out. Sometimes I get reminded of why I am not a designer.
    
18. Apron- I love designing aprons. I have all these great ideas in my head. Sometimes they work out well, other times they don't. This one is starting to look pretty cute, although I'm realizing that I've been assembling it out of order. If it turns out as cute as I think I will be remaking it correctly and possibly be making a tutorial. That's the IF.
    
19. Lots of Charter Meetings- This is a given and the main reason why I am always running around.
20. Work on Banners- Remember my cute Happy Birthday Banner, well I've been updating it and wanting to start an etsy shop for all my creations. Maybe someday. In the meantime, I finished a mostly finished project and then cut the stuffing to prep for assembly.
    

Writing this list was pretty therapeutic, I know my posts have been boring without very many pictures, I kept wanting to take pictures and post as I went along, but sometimes you just gotta get things done and not worry about blogging about it.

Glad I don't know

Sometimes I wonder...

If finding out what I was having would make my life easier.

Let's face it, if I knew, I would...

• only have to sort through names for 1 gender.
  
• give all my baby clothes for the other gender away.
• be able to decide who was sharing rooms with who for the unforeseeable future.
• not have to listen to my kids speculate.
  

But then again if I knew...

• my kids would probably be a little disappointed either way.
  
• it was my last boy/girl, and that would be sad.
• I would never have another baby boy/girl, and that would be hard.
• it would make things more final.

Even though in some ways things would be easier, in others they would be harder. This way I don't have to deal with all the emotions until I have the cute little baby in front of me.

Plus, talk about a surprise, if it's a girl we'll think "we knew it", if it's a boy we'll be like "are you sure?"

John and I pretty much think it's a girl, but I keep referring to it as a "he" or "him". Basically if it's a boy, we'll be shocked, my kids all want a boy, but I know they'll be happy with a girl.

Either way, I'm still standing my ground.

Everything Looks Good

Did I mention, we aren't finding out what we're having?